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Norse

(Encyclopedia)Norse, another name for the North Germanic, or Scandinavian, group of the Germanic subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages (see Germanic languages). The modern Norse languages—Danish, Fae...

Wales

(Encyclopedia)Wales, Welsh Cymru, western peninsula and political division (principality) of Great Britain (2011 pop. 3,063,456), 8,016 sq mi (20,761 sq km), west of England; politically united with England since 1...

German language

(Encyclopedia)German language, member of the West Germanic group of the Germanic subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages (see Germanic languages). It is the official language of Germany and Austria and i...

Hadewijch

(Encyclopedia)Hadewijch häˈdəvīkh [key], fl. early 13th cent., Dutch mystical poet, a nun. Her works, beautiful lyrics on the love of God and a number of letters in rhyme and visions in prose, are a monument bo...

Racine, Jean

(Encyclopedia)Racine, Jean zhäN räsēnˈ [key], 1639–99, French dramatist. Racine is the prime exemplar of French classicism. The nobility of his Alexandrine verse, the simplicity of his diction, the psychologi...

Nibelungen

(Encyclopedia)Nibelungen –lētˌ [key] [song of the Nibelungen] is a long Middle High German epic by a south German poet of the early 13th cent. It includes pagan legends and traditions but is patently the produc...

ode

(Encyclopedia)ode, elaborate and stately lyric poem of some length. The ode dates back to the Greek choral songs that were sung and danced at public events and celebrations. The Greek odes of Pindar, which were mod...

Catherine of Siena, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Catherine of Siena, Saint sēĕnˈə [key], 1347–80, Italian mystic and diplomat, a member of the third order of the Dominicans, Doctor of the Church. The daughter of Giacomo Benincasa, a Sienese dy...

Koltsov, Aleksey Vasilyevich

(Encyclopedia)Koltsov, Aleksey Vasilyevich əlyĭksyāˈ vəsēˈlyəvĭch kəltsôfˈ [key], 1809–42, Russian poet. Although he had little formal education, he studied great works of literature and became well k...

Mickiewicz, Adam

(Encyclopedia)Mickiewicz, Adam äˈdäm mētskyĕˈvĭch [key], 1798–1855, Polish romantic poet and playwright, b. Belorussia. He studied at the Univ. of Vilna, where he was arrested (1823) for pan-Polish activit...